stepping stones
by Athena Goddess of the Wise
Summary: So yeah, that's the exact moment Rin knows he's totally and utterly fucked./ / Also known as, Rin is a sucker. For a lot of things, but mainly Nitori Aiichirou's eyes.


**This is it. The fanfic I've talked about on my tumblr a heck of a lot. Also, this is pretty bad. I tried to edit it and sucked at it. But it's the longest one-shot I've ever written, so that's gotta count for something, right?**

* * *

He pretty much knows he's got himself wrapped around Ai's finger before he even knows that he likes the younger boy in that way, and when he finally realizes that he pretty much has a huge ass elementary school crush on the younger boy it becomes even more apparent to him.

(Nagisa, being the little shit he is, points this out one evening when Rin stands up to go get a drink and Nitori starts to get out money and ask Rin "if it wasn't too much trouble" if he would get him something too and Rin practically trips over his own damn tongue in his haste to tell Nitori that he would get him something, it wasn't too much trouble, he didn't have to pay, what did he want?

Rin's pretty sure that if it wasn't for the two cans of soda he's carrying when Nagisa makes the comment the boy would be dead, but he's also pretty sure they don't accept you into the Olympics if you've murdered someone, so in the end it probably worked out for the best.)

…

Rin asks Nitori out a week before the end of the year.

Gou tells him it's odd, because next week Nitori will be leaving for home for three weeks, and Rin decides not to tell her that that is exactly the reason – that way if he says no or the date goes awful or Rin totally embarrasses himself he has three weeks to pretend like it didn't happen.

(Nitori says yes, and the date goes fine, and the only thing Rin does to embarrass himself is try to kiss Nitori just as said boy turns to point something out and Rin ends up getting hit in the face.

It works out okay, though, because Nitori apologizes and kisses him where he got hit and it's close enough to his lips that all it takes is a little twist of his head and -)

…

School starts back up and it's a little awkward at first because they've technically only really been dating a week and suddenly Rin is questioning the time that he chose to ask Nitori out because everything is just really stilted.

(This, of course, only lasts half a day. Rin eventually just yells "fuck it" – actually yells it, loudly, and he's pretty sure the next dorm over heard him – and grabs Nitori's shoulders and kisses the boy and wow swimming lungs rock because by the time they come up for air they've found their way over to Rin's bed.)

…

Sometimes Rin has to watch Ai swimming at practice and think about how amazing it is that this is the boy who just last year couldn't even compete in the area he wanted and now here he is in the relay with Rin himself.

(Still, the fact that he is going up against Haru makes Rin nervous, because while Ai is better he's still not as good as Haru, but –

The younger boy holds his own, and doesn't let up much of the lead Rin had gotten him in the butterfly, and when his hand hits down in second place Rin is hugging him before he even makes it fully out of the pool and he can hear the Iwatobi boys cheering for Haru as Rin presses his mouth squarely against Nitori's and –

He can care about the fact that they didn't win later – much later – because he's just so damn proud.)

…

Rin starts keeping a mental tally of all the places they've had sex.

It isn't like he's really doing it on purpose. It's more like – they'll be in their room and he'll be at his desk and he'll be like, oh yeah, Ai and I totally did it here – and then he'll have to stop himself from pulling the other boy over and doing it again.

(Rin and Ai's dorm room; on both of the beds, both of the desks, the shower, and if you count that time they rolled off Rin's bed then, yes, the floor – really, their dorm room has seen the most action.

In the locker rooms; both Samezuka's and Iwatobi's, even though Samezuka's was a little harder with all the hustle and bustle of swimmers – turns out that around nine there is no one there. Probably because the pool area closes then, but, it's not really Rin's fault he left his phone there and Nitori came with him. Okay, so it is kind of his fault, but hey, it's another place on the list, so that's a good thing, right?

His bedroom back at his house; his mom practically forced him to bring over "that boyfriend Gou tells me you have" and then she isn't there when he does and Ai asks to see his room and next thing he knows he has Nitori pinned against his bed and his mom doesn't come home for an hour.)

…

They don't fight much – Rin is still, even he will admit, if you catch him at the right moment – a moody piece of shit, but Ai is incredibly good at calming Rin down when he gets angry, which is less than before he reconciled with the Iwatobi boys but still more than when he was friends with them as a kid, so it's really only Ai – not even his own sister – who had to really deal with him when he was still in his super shitty mood and that means it's really only Ai who knows how to deal with him well.

(The only times they fight – real, honest to god _fight_ – is when Rin hits to close to home with Nitori or when Nitori himself is the one who is mad at Rin.

The former ends with Nitori's eyes starting to fill with tears and Rin starting to feel like an asshole and a lot of snuggling and kisses and the phrases "I'm sorry" and "I didn't mean it" being said about a million times.

The latter ends with Nitori blowing up at Rin until the older boy can stop being a dick or apologize or find a way to calm Nitori down.

Rin will be the first to tell you that even with his size and usual temperament, Nitori is _really fucking scary _when he's mad.)

…

Rin graduates from Samezuka and suddenly he doesn't know what to do with himself.

(Okay, so that's a lie. He moves to Tokyo – so does Makoto, actually – and trains for the Olympics with a coach that scouted him out from Samezuka.

It's just – even though he lived in Australia for more years than he was friends with Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa, and way more than the years that he's known Rei or Nitori, they had become so much a part of his life. It was odd, being a day trip away from his friends versus a walk. Even Makoto, who was by far the closest, was still train ride away, and with the taller boy invested in his studies and Rin invested in swimming even they don't see each other as much as they had in their high school days.)

…

With the distance between them, Rin is afraid for his relationship with Nitori. He's always been good at dropping people on his terms, but he's never been good at letting them go when he doesn't want to, and he certainly doesn't want to let Ai go.

(He shouldn't be worried. On the days he or Ai don't call each other, he still receives texts from the younger boy, and the familiar sound of the boy's ringtone becomes a long waited for sound through out the day.

_ I improved my time again! _ _J _

or

_wish you were still here to help me with english…_

or

_how's training?_

And Rin's not great at texting – or talking on the phone, or_ communicating _in general, but he'll reply with a _good job_, or a _clean your desk_, or a _good_, and he can almost see the younger boy's smile as he laughs at Rin's gruffness.)

…

Rin goes home for Christmas break, and sometime in between his arrival and the actual day Nagisa manages to cajole Haru into using his house to throw a party.

(The party isn't big – it is Haru, Makoto, Nagisa, Rei, Nitori, Gou, and of course, Rin, along with their families.

They have to throw it a week before the actual day, because Nitori is going to his home the next day, and of course he has to be there, and while Nagisa isn't happy, claiming that it isn't the same as if it were _actually_ Christmas, but he still goes along.

About half-way through the party the coach from their old swim club shows up with the Iwatobi Swim Team's advisor and pizza, and Rin thinks it's pretty odd that they'd show up uninvited until he remember just what Coach Sasabe was like when he was a kid. Plus nobody really seems to care because the guy even brought Haru a pizza with _mackerel_ on it, so damn, really, he's welcome.

After they're done eating Nagisa disappears with Rei and when they come back their hair is a mess and Rei's glasses are askew and Nagisa announces that he's done hanging the mistletoe and "everyone had better get at least one kiss tonight or you're not allowed to leave" – Haru protests at this with that fact that it's _not Nagisa's house,_ but as usual the energetic boy doesn't listen – and really, who hangs decorations in the middle of a party?

The adults really go at it – he definitely saw the Tachibana's underneath the mistletoe and he didn't see them for a while after that, plus Sasabe and the teacher were definitely gone for a while, so the adults are the main perpetrators of the god awful holiday cliché. But Nagisa and Rei go off again – Haru calls after them, "Don't go in my room again!" and Rin _really_ doesn't want to think of the again – and Makoto whispers something in Haru's ear while Haru lets slip a little smile and _they're_ off, and Gou's pretty much pouting over the fact that her boyfriend's not there – thank god for that – until little Ren goes up to her and stutters and says that since she's the only girl there – who wasn't, you know, _married _or _related to him_ – would she _please_ go under the mistletoe with him and Rin can pretty much tell Gou falls in love right there and damn Mikoshiba better watch out.

So, you know, it's not only the adults.

And then Ai slips his hand into Rin's and gives him that face with those god damned eyes Rin can never say no to and even though it's a big fucking cliché – and really, since when did they, _any_ of them, need mistletoe to make out? - Rin lets himself be dragged to the nearest unoccupied mistletoe.)

…

Makoto and Rin ride the same train back to Iwatobi – Iwatobi's graduation ceremony is a day before Samezuka's so the whole group first goes to cheer for Nagisa and Rei and then for Nitori.

(School doesn't start back up for a few more weeks and when Rin and Makoto do go back Rei and Nitori will be joining them – Rei to some big name science school and Nitori to a university that he has no shame in announcing he chose because of how close it is to Rin's apartment.)

…

Sometimes Rin swears Ai is at Rin's apartment more than Ai is at his dorm. He also is pretty sure that Ai couldn't pick his roommate out in a crowd. And that his apartment is way too small for two people. And it's really too far away from the college for Nitori to commute to everyday.

(All this means, though, is that when Rin is lying in his bed he can reach over and touch Nitori, who is working on another assignment at Rin's desk.

And that Ai has to spend the night with Rin a lot, because some papers take him hours to finish and it really is a pretty far drive – twenty minutes at a time well past midnight feels like forever.

Not that either of them is complaining.)

…

As Nitori's first year at university starts coming to an end, Rin finally broaches a subject he's been thinking about for a while with a "hey, why don't you not apply for a dorm next year?"

(They have to get a bigger apartment, because Ai is a damned pack rat and Rin really doesn't have room to put his school reports from a decade ago.

In the end, Ai ends up choosing the apartment – or more, the apartment is close enough for Ai's school and Ai turns to Rin with his big blue eyes because the view out the window is less the buildings every other apartment has shown and more a park and _really_ when has Rin ever been able to ignore those damn eyes?)

…

It isn't a big change – the apartment is, he guesses, but living with Ai is like a second nature to him.

(Even though he really only lived with Ai for two years – the year that Ai rotated from Rin's house to his dorm doesn't really count, at least not in the way Rin wants it to.

But really, it's no different except they have a king sized bed to share instead of squeezing into a twin and there's a kitchen actually in their apartment instead of a cafeteria down the stairs and it just _feels_ kind off important.)

…

There are only two years until the Olympics and Rin is training harder than he probably ever has before.

(Sometimes he feels bad for Ai because it means that Rin can't eat with him most of the time and when he comes home he's so worn out that he'll fall asleep as soon as he lies down into the bed and he spends every day training and –

Ai's really good about it and when Rin comes home after a bad day because he didn't get his time better or because he's just so damn tired Ai will stop what he's doing and come over and remind Rin that when he's an Olympic winner none of this will matter and well –

Rin's pretty sure he's just really fucking lucky.)

…

Rin takes a week off when Ai's summer break starts. Well, not really off, as he still stays of his strict food regimen and runs every morning and night and pretty much makes sure he doesn't ruin everything he's worked for, but he doesn't go to the gym every day and train.

(They don't really do anything.

Ai sleeps in longer than usual every day and they go to the movies and oh yeah – they get a cat. Sort of.

It's wandering around the park outside their apartment covered in mud and when it meows Rin can already feel himself caving, and that's before Ai turns the eyes towards him.

Besides, he figures his trainings only going to get more intense and Ai needs a friend at home and well –

Yeah, they have a cat.)

…

Suddenly it's already time for Rin to leave for the Olympics and Rin's plane leaves in minutes and even though Ai's going to be coming to see him and will even be there before the Olympics start he still wishes the older man a 'good luck' along with a good bye kiss.

(Ai's there what seems like an eternity later, and the cat is with Makoto and the excuse of "my boyfriend is in the Olympics" turns out to be a really great one for getting off work and out of school.)

…

Rin's hand smacks down in first and as he's pulling himself out of the water the cheering is so loud he can barely hear Ai screaming his name even though the younger man isn't that far away.

(He still can hear it, though, and he smiles and waves and he's probably crying as everyone surrounds him and he can't find Ai just yet in the crowd but he can _hear _him and he sounds so _proud_.)

…

Rin goes home from the Olympics with a gold medal and a cash prize and it feels really weird not having this big goal to work towards any more but he doesn't think he's really lost anything because he still has Ai's hand in his and he can imagine how proud his dad would be when he talks to Gou and his mom.

(He's never been one for sitting still, though, so when he's not being used for promotional shit – promotional shit that, albeit, pays the bills – he takes up a job at the same gym he trained at teaching kids who are aiming big and yeah everyone agrees he's not the nicest coach – he's mean and gruff and quick to yell – but he also it really damn good at coaching and the kids he coach go _far_.)

…

The day after it becomes legal Rin asks Ai to marry him – he figures he's got even Haru beat at that, because Makoto's still in Tokyo and Haru is still in Iwatobi.

(He doesn't, however, have a ring, which Ai teases him about, but when he says that they'll go buy Ai one _right now_ the younger man laughs and pulls Rin down so that their faces are level and says, "Maybe tomorrow", before they're kissing and undressing each other and making their way over to the bed.)

…

The wedding itself is small – Ai is wearing his ring and Rin is wearing his and pretty soon they'll be getting new rings and Gou is of course a bridesmaid – maybe that doesn't work, because neither of them are brides, but anyway she's the maid of honor for either of them, it doesn't really matter which – though it's probably Rin when you actually think about it – and her four year old son is the ring bearer and even Rin has to admit that the kid looks cute in his little tux.

(The reception is pretty good, though, which makes up for the fact that Rin totally embarrasses himself by crying during the ceremony. As they're eating cake Nagisa crows to Rei that it will have to be strawberry at their wedding and Haru and Makoto feed each other their cake more than Rin and Ai do and Gou can't really dance long because she's pregnant – Mikoshiba is either out dancing with their son or sitting talking to her and Rin has to admit for the thousandth time that they really are good together – and Gou's son probably dances with everyone there, including "Uncle RinRin!" – Rin will kill Nagisa later, now that the threat of not going to the Olympics is gone.

And then Gou calls everyone over and hands Rin a bouquet – "why am I the girl?" "because your hair's longer!" – and Rin doesn't even turn around he just chucks the damn thing at Makoto because whoever gets it is supposed to get married next and he might as well make it true, right?

And by the time it's over Rin is more than a little tipsy and Ai's probably getting done with his sloppy drunk kisses but he still kisses him back and, well, Rin's allowed to get drunk at his own god damned wedding, right?)

…

Neither of them really had anyplace specific in mind for a honeymoon so they end up at some tropical resort.

(It's fun, though. They go snorkeling and swimming and some days they don't do anything because wow, the honeymoon suite room has _really_ thick walls.)

…

They get back home and everything goes back to being pretty much the same. Ai gets a promotion, Rin keeps teaching, and their cat keeps eating more food than it should.

(Sometimes, though, when Rin is mad and calls Ai 'Nitori', Ai will laugh and say, "You should be calling me Matsuoka!" and even when it doesn't calm Rin down or sate his anger he can't help but feel a little happy at that.

Or when Ai calls him when he's teaching and one of the people he's training asks who that was he can say "my husband" with that dorky little grin his students laugh at for the few seconds of release they have before he has them back at work.

Just little things like that.)

…

They move again, almost a year after their married, into a small little house just in the outskirts of the city – close enough to both their workplaces – but it has a yard to trade in for Ai's park, and it has two bedrooms instead of just one.

(They don't really talk about it, that room. It's a guest room, is all.)

…

They don't talk about that extra little room for a whole year. And then Makoto and Haru adopt a child.

(The idiots go for, for some reason, a three month old child. Rin can only imagine the work it must be, and both of them have bags under their eyes, but Haru smiles more at the baby in the few hours that the group is there than Haru probably smiled in a week before – or at least the smiles he lets people see.

And Makoto barely takes his eyes off the baby and when it starts to cry even a little he's quick to feed it or burp it or change it or rock it, and he and Haru stand really close to one another and hold the little infant and even though they both look tired they look so in love with the child and each other.

Ai turns to him with the eyes.)

…

They both decide that they should get an older kid – Rin was so young he can barely remember Gou as a baby and both of Ai's siblings are older than him, so they're not very knowledgeable on the whole kid thing. So they decide – the kid has to be older than six, _at least_.

(They walk in to the adoption agency and a little boy, who looks about three, with big brown eyes that sparkle just like Ai's, comes up to them, stuffed shark clutched in hand.

He turns to Rin, eyes large, staring at Rin's teeth and then those of the shark toy in his hand and then back to Rin's, before a large, toothy grin spreads across his face.

Rin can see Ai melt out of the corner of his eye, and the next thing he knows the little boy is dragging him and Ai over to the corner of the room.

As the boy is grabbing a toy for each of the men – a "play wif me" having been said very seriously to both men before hand – Ai turns towards Rin, and damn, why does Ai have to bring out the eyes now? More importantly, why does this kids eyes look exactly like Ai's?

So yeah, that's the exact moment Rin knows he's totally and utterly fucked.)

…

Not that he minds.


End file.
